Christians and Christianity

News about Christians and Christianity, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 25, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Ali Sethi laments that riots following Taliban bombing of two Christian churches in Lahore, Pakistan, has led country's leaders to conclude publicly that Islamist terrorists threaten everybody, diminishing threat to Christians in particular; suggests that riots brought to fore Pakistani Christians' fury at being marginalized, and warns that ignoring that reality is dangerous. MORE

Mar. 16, 2015

At least 15 people are killed and dozens injured in suicide bombings at two Christian churches in Lahore, Pakistan. MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Op-Ed article by Prof Kevin M Kruse examines idea of America as Christian nation, which has been written in country's political culture in countless ways; notes notion originated in 1930s as corporations tried to increase their standing with public; says these corporate leaders advanced new ideology that combined Christianity with anti-federal libertarianism. MORE

Mar. 2, 2015

Local leaders say 19 of group of Assyrian Christians kidnapped by Islamic State militants in northeastern Syria have been freed, and they met with church officials in a cathedral in the city of Hasaka. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Islamic State undertakes rampage against Assyrian Christians of northeastern Syria, taking at least 300 people captive; release video of members destroying priceless works of ancient Assyrian art inside the Mosul Museum in Iraq, in what art historians describe as catastrophic loss; offensive is seen as latest attempt to eradicate or subordinate all opponents and minorities in self-declared caliphate, as well as to provoke anger in the West. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Islamic State militants invade several Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria, taking hostages, including both civilians and fighters; estimates of hostages taken range from several dozen to more than 100. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Indian Hindu leader Mohan Bhagwat is criticized for comments he made about Mother Teresa, who he accused of helping India's poor in order to convert them to Christianity. MORE

Feb. 22, 2015

People are debating whether American journalist James Foley, who was beheaded in Syria by Islamic State militants, converted from Christianity to Muslim for himself or for his captors; Foley's mother believes her son died a Christian and that his conversion was an act of practicality. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Susan Jacoby defends Pres Obama from criticisms directed at his reference to Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition; relates how First Crusade claimed as its first victims Jews, rather than Muslims from which Christian warriors were trying to liberate Jerusalem; notes similarities between Christian Crusaders and modern terrorist groups like Islamic State. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

Ross Douthat Op-Ed column traces Pres Obama's focus on America's past sins to insight from theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, who noted that no society is innocent, most recent example of which was Obama saying that religious violence is not limited to Islam; considers limits of this approach, particularly with respect to foreign policy. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Pres Obama equates atrocities of Islamic State to bloodshed committed by Christians in centuries past, angering many conservatives. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

New Delhi police detain hundreds of Christian protesters calling for government to investigate attacks against churches. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

Militants in Libya who have identified themselves as Tripolitania Province of Islamic State say that they are holding 21 Egyptian Christians captive; rise of third known Libyan affiliate of Islamic State group points to possibility that its influence is bleeding out beyond Syria and Iraq. MORE

Jan. 4, 2015

Jan. 3, 2015

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column; some clergy members in states where same-sex marriage is legal have taken pledge not to sign state marriage licenses. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Baghdad Journal; small minority of Christians living in Iraq today struggle to celebrate Christmas there, with many nostalgically recalling large-scale celebrations from years past, before Islamic State militants began killing and driving them out; fewer than 400,000 remain out of estimated 1.5 million that lived in Iraq in 2003. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

Reza Aslan Lives essay describes experience of saying grace over Christmas dinner while surrounded by family members espousing radically different religious beliefs; says family was able to find commonality through looking beyond symbolism and language that defines their beliefs. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

Samuel G Freedman On Religion column notes substantial number of white people have joined First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, trend that defies racial norms of American Christianity. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Kentucky rescinds offer of tax breaks for a religious-themed park that would feature a 500-foot-long wooden ark based on Noah’s Ark; state officials say planned project had changed from tourism attraction to outreach for Christian ministry. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

South Korea approves construction of 30-foot tower shaped like Christmas tree near border with North Korea, move that is likely to antagonize the North; tower will be built by conservative Christian group. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Somali militants separate Christian miners from Muslims in northern Kenya and kill 36 of them; extremist group Shabab takes responsibility in second massacre of non-Muslims in month. MORE

Dec. 1, 2014

Pope Francis and his Orthodox Church counterpart Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew vow to work together to prevent exodus of Christians from Syria and Iraq, calling for constructive dialogue with Muslims to resolve international conflicts. MORE

Dec. 1, 2014

Clergy members around region of Ferguson, Mo, urge healing after stormy protests erupted in response to grand jury decision declining to indict white Police Officer Darren Wilson in shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown; also call for movement to continue questioning race and police behavior. MORE

Nov. 30, 2014

Suki Kim book Without You, There Is No Us, personal account of time she spent teaching English to adolescent boys at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, has angered North Korean authorities and her former colleagues; book asserts that educators were trying to convert students to Christianity. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Pakistani Prime Min Nawaz Sharif orders authorities to 'show no mercy' in bringing to justice those involved in murder of Shahzad and Shama Masih, Christian couple who were tortured and then incinerated in brick kiln after being accused of blasphemy; killings have been met with widespread condemnation in country. MORE

Oct. 27, 2014

About 4,000 Christians have left Mosul, Iraq, for Jordan in last three months, forced out by Islamic State fighters; some are staying at churches in Amman, and many are haunted by abrupt end to their lives in Iraq. MORE

Oct. 11, 2014

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column on Christian minister Edward Fudge and his argument of conditional immortality, idea that the suffering of souls in hell is finite, put forth in his 1982 book The Fire That Consumes; notes view is in direct opposition to traditional Christian thinking, but has been proposed by Christian thinkers almost from the beginning. MORE

Oct. 4, 2014

Samuel G Freedman On Religion column; David Skeel, University of Pennsylvania law professor and Christian, consulted with Patrick Arsenault, postdoctoral fellow and atheist, for his book True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World; unlikely collaboration offers rare example of mutual civility within today's culture wars. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Islamic State militants blow up an important site in early Christianity known as the Green Church in Tikrit, Iraq. MORE

Sep. 14, 2014

Ross Douthat Op-Ed column warns of the increasing plight faced by Christians in the Middle East, noting that most Americans have ignored them for a variety of reasons, including out of deference to Israel; criticizes performance by Sen Ted Cruz at summit conference organized in response to religious cleansing by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. MORE

Sep. 6, 2014

Samuel G Freedman On Religion column; Chaldean Catholics of Iraq, members of an Eastern Rite church that is affiliated with Roman Catholicism, have been suffering at the hands of Islamist militants for last decade; refugees in congregation in Michigan town of Southfield have been trying desperately to raise awareness about sect's persecution in their home country. MORE

Sep. 1, 2014

Surge in popularity of pilgrimage to shrine of St James in northwestern Galicia, which dates from the ninth century, has turned a spiritual obstacle course in medieval times into a booming part of modern Spain’s tourism industry. MORE

Aug. 20, 2014

Op-Ed article by Ronald S Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, questions why the world is silent while Christians are being slaughtered in Middle East and Africa, while demonstrations have been held over deaths of Palestinians; calls on good people the world over to join together and stop wave of violence against Christians. MORE

Jul. 31, 2014

Evangelical and other conservative religious leaders, defying Republican orthodoxy, reassert support for Pres Obama's environmental policies at public hearings on proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules; measures would cut carbon pollution from power plants. MORE

Jul. 30, 2014

Historians James Fenimore Cooper Jr and Margaret Bendroth are rummaging through New England church basements and attics searching for records of early American private life; historians are trying to persuade small town church leaders to turn over their records for digitization and preservation, focusing largely on Massachusetts because of its notably careful record keeping. MORE

Jul. 29, 2014

China's government demolition campaign against public symbols of Christianity topples crosses at two more churches in province of Zhejiang; congregants do not offer resistance, in contrast to previous confrontations between police and parishioners; structures were said to violate zoning rules, but many say move signals leadership's discomfort with growing allure of Christianity in country. MORE

Jul. 24, 2014

Representatives of Muslim and Christian factions battling in Central African Republic sign agreement in neighboring Republic of Congo as pressure mounts from mediators; it is unclear if cease-fire will be respected by fighters on the ground. MORE

Jul. 24, 2014

Editorial condemns crackdown by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Iraqi Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities in Mosul; urges strong international response to crisis; accuses Iraq's Prime Min Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of making situation worse and calls for his replacement. MORE

Jul. 21, 2014

Iraqi Christians flee Mosul, Iraq, community almost as old as Christianity itself, under threat of death by militants of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. MORE

Jul. 20, 2014

Smith Henderson Lives essay recalls attending Bible camp as a child; describes botched camp activity that involved counselors acting as bandits, and how he wanted raid to be real because of the thrill of the feeling of persecution. MORE

Jul. 19, 2014

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria orders Christians in Mosul, Iraq, to leave the city; since ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Mosul's Christians, one of oldest communities of its kind in the world, had seen its numbers dwindle from over 30,000 to just a few thousand, but since ISIS swept into city in early June, there have been reports that remaining Christians have fled. MORE

Jul. 13, 2014

United Methodist Minister Rev Frank Schaefer endangered his own career after he decided to officiate at his son Tim's same-sex wedding; choice Schaefer made underscores conundrum between Christian doctrine on homosexuality and longings for spirituality and community from gay family members and congregants; Schaefer's congregation rebelled and he was defrocked, only to be reinstated later. MORE

Jul. 5, 2014

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column profiles Sarah Jones, daughter of fundamental Christians and graduate of a Christian college who found herself on a path to atheism and feminism; Jones now works for liberal advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who sent her to await Supreme Court's decision in Burwell v Hobby Lobby. MORE

Jul. 1, 2014

Family behind Hobby Lobby says fighting the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptives mandate all the way to the Supreme Court was a calling, not a choice; since the company’s creation in 1972, Christianity has infused the culture of the chain of craft shops, dictating everything from its hours of operation to the choice to remain privately controlled. MORE

Jun. 24, 2014

Egyptian court convicts Christian reporter Bishoy Armia of promoting sectarianism and sentences him to five years in prison. MORE

Jun. 22, 2014

Interview with an apostate Muslim from Pakistan, who left behind his family and business and is in hiding in Afghanistan, after his family members vowed to kill him for abandoning his religion and converting to Christianity; Afghanistan holds its own dangers; while the country's laws protect freedom of religion, the reality here and in some other Muslim countries is that renouncing Islam is a capital offense. MORE

Jun. 12, 2014

Political analysts and Jewish leaders say Eric Cantor’s Jewish faith did not play a role in his primary loss to upstart David Brat; analysts, however, do emphasize that Brat, who has a divinity degree and often invokes God in his speeches, had a special appeal for Christian conservatives that Cantor lacked. MORE

Jun. 7, 2014

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column notes evangelicals are not the only ones with high-profile preachers with sizable audiences; points out liberal wings of certain Christian churches also have preaching stars, and some gathered In Minneapolis in May for the annual Festival of Homiletics, conference that offers sermons and lectures on art of preaching. MORE

May. 30, 2014

Order from Chinese government to tear down Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou, China, has city's growing Christian population decrying move as part of strategy to reduce Christianity's growing popularity; officials insist that church violates zoning regulations. MORE

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Gov. Mike Pence said he would seek legislation to clear up misunderstandings about the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, denying that it gives license to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

March 29, 2015, Sunday

The police arrested two suspects on Thursday in the rape of an elderly nun in a Catholic missionary school this month, a crime that further fueled the intense national debate about the problem of sexual violence.